Don’t give away the farm during an interview

Pay attention to cues during an interview to help you decide if you should help the company before you’re hired.

Here’s a situation you might find yourself facing: You’re in a job interview, and you learn of a problem your potential employer has — a problem you know how to solve. This is a company you want to work for, one you know will be a good match with your skills and values. Should you help them solve the problem before you’re hired to demonstrate your value and show your willingness to help?

There is a fine line between selling your value to an employer and giving away the farm. Sometimes, this line can become blurred when you are job searching. One of the reasons why you were called in to interview is to help the employer with their needs, that’s true. The key, however, is to demonstrate you can be a problem solver without necessarily solving the problem for them.

Most interviewers depending on the position being open will use behavioral-based questions. These questions rely on stories of accomplishments — situation, actions and results. Practice answering these types of questions by describing how you solved their problem, and end with a quantifiable result.

There have been a few situations where candidates have genuinely tried to help the potential employer and have been taken advantage of. If this happens to you, be glad you did not accept an offer from them. The majority of employers would be impressed and excited to have you on board because you demonstrated how to solve their problem.

Pay attention to clues during the interview to judge how much information to share. Your job is to communicate your skills and value in such a way that the employer feels comfortable and confident that you can do the job.